Carpenter Ant
Carpenter Ants are one of the largest ants we have in the United States. Their range is throughout our country. Typically you'll know you have carpenter ants because you'll start noticing large, black ants foraging randomly on or around the home. Carpenter Ants are unique. Regardless of which carpenter ant you have, their characteristics will include: 1) Scent trails which may be hundreds of feet in length (expect to see only a few ants on this trail at any given moment). 2) Nocturnal activity (mostly active at night). 3) Chewing on wood structures and in wall or ceiling voids for nesting. 4) An ability to identify leaky, damp wood and spaces. 5) An ability to avoid chemically treated areas and find new ways into a structure.
Carpenter Ants typically set up a series of nests which are all "linked" together. This network of nests can be in series enabling foraging workers and scouts to have a place of safe haven when out and about doing their chores. This structure also helps to preserve any one colony because it's rare that all the members will ever be in one location at one time. Should any one "satellite" nest be destroyed, the other nests will usually have enough members left to enable the colony to move on and survive. This is also why controlling carpenter ants can sometimes be a difficult job. If you only get 1-2 of their nests but miss even one satellite colony, they might be able to rebound and rebuild. This is why a thorough and complete treatment is needed when implementing a carpenter ant program.
Controlling or eliminating moisture problems within a structure is essential for long-term control of Carpenter Ants.